Wisdom Teeth

David After Dentist

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I found a website http://davidafterdentist.com/ that is doing very well for pretty much just having a YouTube video and some background information. The site features a video of a 7 year old who had a condition called hyperdontia and had to have a tooth removed. The video shows the aftermath of the kid in the backseat of his father’s car while his father takes a video with a flip video camera. His quite out of it from the anesthesia. Apparently the video is generating the family six figures a year in income, which is very successful. This shows that one successful video can really take off and lead to fame as most of us know by now.

National Institutes of Health Wisdom Teeth Study

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A new article in the Washington Post is titled “Study may shed light on when it’s appropriate to remove wisdom teeth.” The article does a good job presenting the evidence (and lack of) for and against removing healthy impacted wisdom teeth. Even so there is apparent bias towards removing wisdom teeth in the article. This is because the article talks about the author’s daughter who had to make a decision regarding removing 2 wisdom teeth. Her daughter ending up deciding to have those 2 wisdom teeth taken out. However, the author (mother) makes it clear that there is no scientific studies to really argue in one direction. Because of this, it is argued, as the American Association of Public Health states “…the removal of wisdom teeth….should be based on evidence of diagnosed pathology or demonstrable need.” This is due to … Read more

Dentist Donates Free Services

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I always like to here about stories where dentists are offering their services to others for free. In April 2010, Eric Welz a 16 year old high school student who  dental services worth over $2,500 from the “Give a Kid a Smile” program offered from Total Dentistry. Eric had all of his wisdom teeth removed, three cavities filled, and dental sealants applied to his back teeth.  For those interested, Total Dentistry is no longer currently offering the program but it may appear again in the future on their website www.totaldentistry.org. I have heard of other dental providers offering such services. You may want to talk to your dental provider to see if they know or offer any such service. It would be nice if all children and adults could have the dental care they desire without having to worry about … Read more

Stress Leads to Teeth Grinding

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Evidence suggests that people who are stressed by daily occurrences, work problems, relationship problems, etc. are  more likely to grind their teeth at night. The research is present in the  journal Head and Face Medicine. They  studied the causes of ‘sleep bruxism’,which is grinding teeth during the night, and found it to be more common in those with are dealing with stressful situations. In one study there were 69 people, of whom 48 were ‘bruxers’. Maria Giraka who worked with the researchers said “Bruxing can lead to abrasive tooth wear, looseness and sensitivity of teeth, and growth and pain in the muscles responsible for chewing. Its causes are still relatively unknown, but stress has been implicated. We aimed to investigate whether different stress-factors, and different coping strategies, were more or less associated with these bruxism symptoms.” Thin plates  were placed … Read more

Growing Teeth Formula

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Researchers at the  Institute of Biotechnology of the University of Helsinki developed a computer model reproducing population-level variation in  teeth. This has implications for growing correctly shaped teeth. With more than 15 years of work, Jukka Jernvall and his team have compiled data on the evolutionary development of mammal teeth and the main aspects of a formula for making teeth emerging. According to a mathematical computer model, a rather simple basic formula seems to be behind the complex gene puzzle resulting in tooth formations. The jungle of gene networks has a ‘patterning kernel’ which regulates the variation of teeth among individuals. It is possible that human teeth from the incisors to the molar teeth may result from a single factor which regulates cell division. The researchers have investigated their model on seal teeth. The Ladoga ringed seal collection  at the … Read more